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Tri-State Christmas shoppers get up early to find bargains
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| Wanda Billings of Charleston looks at pajama pants at the Farm and Home Supply store in Keokuk this morning. Billings got up at 3 a.m. this morning to start looking for Christmas shopping bargains. |
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
Despite the nation's economic woes, hard core Christmas shoppers looking for bargains were out in force this morning.
The parking lot at Farm and Home Supply in Keokuk was nearly full shortly after 7 a.m.
Inside, Bonnie Bowen of Fort Madison, who set her alarm clock at 3:30 a.m. today, shopped for her daughters-in-law while her husband, Mike, looked in another part of the store. The Bowens started their shopping experience at Shopko in Fort Madison and then hit Walmart in Keokuk before coming to Farm and Home Supply. They might end up in Quincy, Ill., or Iowa City before the day was over, she said.
At Walgreens in Keokuk, meanwhile, Jason Rotter of Kansas City, Mo., was making the rounds with his wife, Heather, formerly of Keokuk and his wife's sisters. They had already been to Shopko in Fort Madison and Walmart in Keokuk, he said.
“You couldn't walk from one end of the store to the other without weaving in and out of people (at Walmart),” Jason said.
Kelly Freeman of Carthage, Ill., made purchases at Peebles at the River City Mall in Keokuk before going to work this morning. She had already been to Walmart at 4:15 a.m. to buy a Wii game.
Black Friday, named because it was often the sales-packed day when retailers would become profitable for the year, was the biggest sales generator of the season last year. While it isn't a predictor of holiday season sales, the day after Thanksgiving is an important barometer of people's willingness to spend.
Last year, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend of Friday through Sunday accounted for about 10 percent of overall holiday sales, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.
The group hasn't released estimates for Black Friday sales this year, but experts believe it will remain one of the season's biggest selling days, even as shoppers remain deliberate in their spending.
Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, expects to see a surge of shoppers for the early morning deals today but predicts crowds will taper off throughout the day and into the weekend.
“I think we are going to see the busiest Black Friday ever, but will it carry over past 10 a.m.?” he said. “The bottom line is a great Black Friday does not make a season.”
The Associated Press and AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this article.
The parking lot at Farm and Home Supply in Keokuk was nearly full shortly after 7 a.m.
Inside, Bonnie Bowen of Fort Madison, who set her alarm clock at 3:30 a.m. today, shopped for her daughters-in-law while her husband, Mike, looked in another part of the store. The Bowens started their shopping experience at Shopko in Fort Madison and then hit Walmart in Keokuk before coming to Farm and Home Supply. They might end up in Quincy, Ill., or Iowa City before the day was over, she said.
At Walgreens in Keokuk, meanwhile, Jason Rotter of Kansas City, Mo., was making the rounds with his wife, Heather, formerly of Keokuk and his wife's sisters. They had already been to Shopko in Fort Madison and Walmart in Keokuk, he said.
“You couldn't walk from one end of the store to the other without weaving in and out of people (at Walmart),” Jason said.
Kelly Freeman of Carthage, Ill., made purchases at Peebles at the River City Mall in Keokuk before going to work this morning. She had already been to Walmart at 4:15 a.m. to buy a Wii game.
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Last year, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend of Friday through Sunday accounted for about 10 percent of overall holiday sales, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.
The group hasn't released estimates for Black Friday sales this year, but experts believe it will remain one of the season's biggest selling days, even as shoppers remain deliberate in their spending.
Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, expects to see a surge of shoppers for the early morning deals today but predicts crowds will taper off throughout the day and into the weekend.
“I think we are going to see the busiest Black Friday ever, but will it carry over past 10 a.m.?” he said. “The bottom line is a great Black Friday does not make a season.”
The Associated Press and AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this article.
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| Keokuk has Thanksgiving God's Way |
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Despite the nations economic woes... wrote on Nov 29, 2008 10:17 AM: